At the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, Richmond police salute their slain colleague at the memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in Fairfield.(CHRSTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/CHRONICLE) less

At the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, Richmond police salute their slain colleague at the memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in ... more

Photo: CHRISTINA KOCI HERNANEZ/CHRONICL

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At the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM,memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in Fairfield.(CHRSTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/CHRONICLE)

At the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM,memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in Fairfield.(CHRSTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/CHRONICLE)

Photo: CHRISTINA KOCI HERNANEZ/CHRONICL

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At the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, Richmond police officers prepare the flag from the casket of slain Richmond police detective, Kaliah Ashante Harper. Memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in Fairfield.(CHRSTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/CHRONICLE) less

Richmond police officers mourn the loss of their colleague, at the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM,memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in Fairfield.(CHRSTINA KOCI HERNANDEZ/CHRONICLE)
Ran on: 12-02-2006
Richmond police were among dozens of officers from around the state at a memorial for police Officer Kaliah Harper, 28, who was shot while off duty. &quo;No one doubts that lives were saved because she walked this earth for a brief moment,&quo; said Mayor Irma Anderson. See story, Page B3. less

Richmond police officers mourn the loss of their colleague, at the RICHMOND MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM,memorial service for Richmond police detective, Kaliah Harper, who was killed Nov.24, while off duty in ... more

Richmond police Officer Kaliah Harper's short life proved that a woman with a passion for serving the community where she grew up can make a difference, mourners were told Friday at a memorial service.

"You don't have to live long to have a lasting impact," the Rev. Keith Mitchell told those gathered at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium to honor the decorated officer who was slain last week while off duty, allegedly by a former boyfriend.

Richmond Mayor Irma Anderson was among the 500 people, including dozens of officers from across the state, who paid homage to Harper, 28, of Suisun City, who had been with the department for four years.

"We do know that her courage and her talent were put to the best use possible in her short life," Anderson said. "No one doubts that lives were saved because she walked this earth for a brief moment."

While on the force, Harper was promoted to the narcotics task force while still a probationary hire. She made 350 arrests and received 12 letters of commendation praising her work. And her life was a testament to the belief that one can give back to the community, colleagues and friends said.

A phalanx of motorcycle officers and police cars, their sirens blaring, escorted Harper's hearse to the auditorium, which sits across from the Police Department. Outside, a large U.S. flag hung from the extended ladders of fire trucks from El Cerrito and Richmond.

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Their badges striped by black bands, officers saluted as pallbearers escorted Harper's flag-draped coffin for the service. In the hallway, a projector showed images of Harper as a young girl, as a teenager attending the prom and with her family.

She was shot and killed Nov. 24 outside the Fairfield Community Center at a funeral reception for two young boys killed in a head-on collision. The suspect, Quartus Lee Hinton, 28, had dated Harper, who had broken up with him recently, police said. Hinton, who was related to the boys, shot Harper numerous times in the upper body and head, authorities said.

Hinton, a parolee with burglary and drug convictions, was arrested a day later in Vallejo. He has been charged with murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

The circumstances of Harper's death weren't brought up at Friday's memorial service. Instead, speakers focused on how a shy little girl blossomed into a star officer with a commanding presence.

"She had a smile that could light up the room," said Deputy Chief Ed Medina, reading a statement by Police Chief Chris Magnus, who was tending to his ailing mother out-of-state. "But don't let that fool you -- while she was small in stature, she was as tough as they come."

Anderson, joined by members of the City Council, read a proclamation praising Harper for leaving an "everlasting impression that touched the hearts of many to the end of time."

Harper's cousin, Felicia Moore, speaking through tears, said, "She was truly an angel in our midst, because she blessed everyone she ever came in contact with. If you needed anything, she was always there for you."

Dorothea Johnson, a former police records clerk, compared Harper's life to a tree whose roots run so deep that the leaves haven't withered and the fruit will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

Harper attended De Anza High School in Richmond and Cal State Sacramento before graduating at the top of her class at Napa Valley College Police Academy.

In his eulogy, the Rev. Claybon Lea said Harper's death was "sour for us, sweet for her" because she had "fulfilled her life's destiny."

As a police bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," pallbearers carefully folded the U.S. flag that had rested on Harper's coffin.

After the memorial, mourners released 28 white doves -- one for each year of Harper's life. Four police helicopters flew overhead before one peeled off in the missing man formation.